MLA/LGW last night 2h30 delay. Got back to LGW at 0321.

Didn't help that the purser was the most cheerful
person ever. He spent half the flight prating on about the Change for
Good appeal at full volume over the PA; a cause I contribute to regularly and whole heartedly support but I'd have given him an envelope
stuffed with 50s for him just to shut up. And he did enjoy playing with
the lights. Lights off for take off then as soon as the seatbelt sign went
off BANG up to interrogation level. Then down a bit then BANG up to
'everyone is going to eat the meal whether you want to or not' level.
What sort of flight times do GB operate anyway?

I got to bed at 0500. We printed our own boarding passes out at the hotel so we could stay at the hotel for as long as possible and we would be fine at the airport. Well, we thought we were. We all got through security with passports and self printed BPs apart from a colleague. Then things got interesting.

I think he must have coughed and this sounded like Maltese for "Your wife
is a goat" because the checkpoint guy all of a sudden stood up arms waving
and said "no you've all got to go back you all need boarding passes." This
was at 2330 and we were not amused. So we all trundled down the stairs
and tried to negotiate our way the wrong way through security. Security
guys having non of it, no you can't come back this way. There then ensued
a 5 minute shouting match between immigration and security guys, we
basically threw down our bags and let it all happen round us. Eventually,
reluctantly, they let us through to departures.

It then took us 10 minutes to get into the airport lounge. The girl acted
as if she'd never seen a British Airways card and was on the phone to
somebody spelling my name out. My colleague produced his Qantas platinum card and he may as well have handed her a used tissue from the reaction she gave him. We then started pointing out the one world symbol thingies and I
think she gave up in the end and, unconvinced, let us in.

What a trip. I like the idea of printing your own BPs but they'll only work if everyone involved at the airport recognises them. Maybe, where a lounge invite card is needed, this could somehow be printed on the boarding pass as well?